High school students in Global Navigators shirts in Santiago de los Caballeros

How Teen Summer Travel Programs Compare

CIEE Global Navigator High School Summer Abroad

CIEE vs. Other Summer Opportunities for Your Teen

It can be challenging to decide on the best way for your teen to spend their summer.

Balancing competing interests and priorities—sports, spending time with friends, a summer job—is stressful, and many teens and their parents settle for what’s most comfortable during the summer months, which usually means staying home.

However, giving your teen the opportunity to spend a few weeks of summer outside of their comfort zone on a teen summer travel program can truly be life changing. It’s a chance to make the most out of their time off from school, learn new skills, and dive deeper into what they are passionate about. There are a few options to choose from. For example, you could send them to an overnight teen summer camp in a town nearby or sign them up for a teen tour that allows them to travel to a foreign country. These have their own advantages, but few programs will provide the same benefits of CIEE Global Navigator high school summer abroad programs.

Picture your teen abroad using their conversational language skills in the community; collaborating in groups with diverse students from across the U.S.; proposing solutions to real-world problems; pitching ideas in front of a panel of professionals; and coming home with their own projects and portfolios and maybe the Seal of Biliteracy and college credits.

Our program curricula align with U.S. high school learning goals of world language proficiency, global competence, and college readiness. You can consider it an investment that will have positive effects in your teen and your family’s future. There’s really no better way to spend the summer than studying something you love in an amazing location.

Pricing

	Summer Camp (in the U.S.)	Teen Tour (abroad)	CIEE High School Summer Abroad
Weekly Cost	from $700 to $3,200	from $1,200 to $2,600	from $1,483 to $2,450

Scholarships: CIEE administers the largest high school study abroad scholarship fund in the U.S., awarding more than $6 million to students every year. These awards can cover between 10% to 100% of program tuition, making our high school summer abroad programs accessible to everyone.

Benefits

Summer Camp (in the U.S.)	Teen Tour (abroad)	CIEE High School Summer Abroad
Enjoy fun summer activities with friends	Enjoy fun summer activities with friends	Enjoy fun summer activities with friends
Take some responsibility	Take some responsibility	Take greater responsibility and gain confidence, independence, flexibility
	See a new culture	LIVE a new culture
	Stay with a group of students from their same school or with longtime friends	Make new friendships with teens from all over the U.S. from diverse backgrounds and communities
	Stay mostly with their tour group	Build meaningful relationships with local communities
	Pick up some foreign words	Deepen proficiency in a foreign language or topic through interactive classes
	Come back with good memories and some souvenirs	Come back with good memories and valuable certificates, credentials, or college credits
		Have an impressive experience that gives an edge on college applications
		Develop global competence for 21st century jobs
		Gain a direction for college and future career

Program Outcomes: Our data shows that our participants achieve impressive outcomes in just a few weeks. Read more about our Program Outcomes.

Safety & Support

Summer Camp (in the U.S.)	Teen Tour (abroad)	CIEE High School Summer Abroad
Some safety measures	Some safety measures	Comprehensive safety measures reviewed annually
External staff working only in summer months	External staff working only in summer months	Local staff working year-round in the program destination
		Student medical and travel insurance

Why Parents Trust CIEE: Read more about About CIEE and our Safety on program.

What's Included on Program

Interactive Classes

Housing

3 Meals/Day
(Dietary Needs Accommodated)

All Ground Transportation
(Once In-country)

Optional Flight Chaperone
(Flight Cost Not Included)

Pre-departure Advice and Orientation

Access to Local Phone and WIFI

All Cultural Activities and Excursions

Comprehensive Medical and Travel Protection

24/7 Emergency On-site Support

High school students walking in a London park

Encourage Your Teen to Set Their Summer Goals

Have a conversation with your teen about their goals for the summer. Setting goals can help you and them make the best choices on a program. Their high school summer abroad experience should be something that aligns with they want for their own lives and future careers.

View All Summer Programs